Alon Dror
Co-founder and CEO of Kela Technologies. Talpiot program graduate; former IDF tank commander, then a career at Mafat (Israel's Directorate of Defense R&D), where he won the Israel Defense Prize. Stanford GSB.
Alon Dror is co-founder and CEO of Kela Technologies, a defense-tech platform for integrating commercial sensors, drones, and AI into military command-and-control systems. A Talpiot program graduate who studied physics at Hebrew University, he served nearly a decade in the IDF — first as a tank platoon commander, later heading an R&D section at Mafat (Israel's Directorate of Defense R&D) — where he won the Israel Defense Prize for a three-year project. He earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business (Class of 2022) before co-founding Kela in July 2024 with Hamutal Meridor, Omer Bar-Ilan, and Jason Manne, motivated by lessons from the October 7 attacks.
Overview
- Role
- Co-Founder & CEO, Kela Technologies
- Based in
- Tel Aviv, Israel
- Prior experience
- Israel Defense Forces (tank commander), Mafat (Israel's Directorate of Defense R&D)
- www.linkedin.com/in/alon-dror/
Affiliated funds0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- Who is Alon Dror?
- Alon Dror is co-founder and CEO of Kela Technologies, a defense-tech platform for integrating commercial sensors, drones, and AI into military command-and-control systems. A Talpiot program graduate who studied physics at Hebrew University, he served nearly a decade in the IDF — first as a tank platoon commander, later heading an R&D section at Mafat (Israel's Directorate of Defense R&D) — where he won the Israel Defense Prize for a three-year project. He earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business (Class of 2022) before co-founding Kela in July 2024 with Hamutal Meridor, Omer Bar-Ilan, and Jason Manne, motivated by lessons from the October 7 attacks.
- What is Alon Dror's role?
- Alon Dror is Co-Founder & CEO, Kela Technologies, based in Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Where did Alon Dror work before?
- Alon Dror's prior roles include Israel Defense Forces (tank commander), Mafat (Israel's Directorate of Defense R&D).
Sources & citations6
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Kela founded July 2024 by Dror, Meridor, Bar-Ilan, Manne; company builds open platform integrating commercial tech into military C2 systems
The Times of Israel: Backed by CIA, defense startup emerges with tech platform for modern battlefieldVerified2025-03-17 - 2
Dror: Talpiot grad, tank commander, Mafat, Israel Defense Prize; founding driven by Oct 7 lessons
CTech (Calcalist): After months of secrecy, Israeli defense startup Kela unveils its vision with $39M in fundingVerified2026-08-09 - 3
Kela raising $200M at $1.2B valuation
Globes: Israeli defense-tech co Kela raising $200m at $1.2b valuationVerified2026-08-09 - 4
Dror: Head of R&D Section at Mafat, Israel Defense Prize, Talpiot/Hebrew University physics, Stanford GSB MBA Class of 2022, Jerusalem hometown
Poets&Quants: Meet The MBA Class of 2022: Alon Dror, Stanford GSBVerified2021-06-19 - 5
Globes 40 Under 40 recognition; senior Mafat/DDR&D official, Israel Defense Prize winner
Globes: Defense tech co Kela makes first acquisitionVerified2026-08-09 - 6
Alon Dror and Hamutal Meridor now live in Tel Aviv, per co-founder's own account
CTech (Calcalist): Kela: The Israeli startup rewriting how wars are foughtVerified2025-04-30